Home Living
Summer
Squash
B
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Put the zucchini bounty to work
By GRETCHEN McKAY
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Zucchini is among the most prolifi c of summer vegetables, in large
part because it’s so easy for even beginner gardeners to grow. It’s espe-
cially popular here in Pittsburgh, where thin, fried ribbons of the thin-
skinned squash served with a side of marinara sauce made its tasty debut
in the 1950s, and is now considered a classic appetizer in red sauce Italian
restaurants.
But what if you’re looking for something that tastes a little more
seasonal?
This vegetarian lasagna exemplifi es summer by pairing super-thin slices
of zucchini with a super-simple tomato sauce and lots of creamy ricotta.
Only instead of layering the “noodles” in a stack, they’re rolled up, egg
roll-style. The result is a low-carb, no-cal dish that’s both colorful and
healthful.
Using a mandoline is the easiest way to create thin, even slices of zuc-
chini (go slow, and watch your fi ngers!), but you also could also use a sharp
knife if you have nimble hands. Depending on how tightly you pack the
lasagna pan, you may have enough zucchini and fi lling to make an extra
half pan of roll-ups — I did.
I used olive oil infused with Calabrian chili peppers for a little extra
oomph. So good!
See, Recipe/Page B2
Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-TNS
Thinly sliced zucchini stands in for pasta noodles in these vegetarian lasagna roll ups.
Background photo from 123rf.com
One family’s long history with the Grace Building
T
he history of a building
is interesting, but it is the
people who build or occupy
that building who create the sto-
ries. The Grace Building at 1401-
1409 Adams Ave. in downtown
La Grande has been the home to
many businesses and proprietors
for nearly 100 years, some of
these being Mc Glasson’s Statio-
nery, The Town House and Fitz-
gerald Flowers. The current occu-
pants are Claudson’s Sew Chic
and Craig’s Antiques.
Previously we learned of
Grace, a young woman from
Island City, who had the vision to
create the building. We learned of
the four Moon brothers who were
involved with establishing Moon
Drug. There were others who
came and went through the years,
but there is only one basic type
of business that has been located
in the Grace Building at 1407
Adams as long as the building
has been there, that of the art and
craft of leather work.
Grace Snyder moved her
former husband’s business,
Snyder Harness Co., to the Grace
Building in 1928, giving it the new
GINNY
MAMMEN
OUT AND ABOUT
name of Grace Harness Co. In
1936 the business changed hands
and became known as the Snider
Harness Shop operated by Bryn C.
Snider. In 1948 the shop changed
owners and a new owner moved
his cobbler shop from Union to
La Grande and into the Grace
Building. This begins next chapter
of the family of occupants from
1948 to the present at 1407 Adams.
The story of the current family
business at 1407 Adams begins
June of 1853 in Sweden when
Andreas Anderson was born
to Anders Anderson and his
wife Catherine. In 1877 young
Andreas married 20-year-old
Anna Lovisa Boijort. By 1880
Andreas, Anna and their young
son, Gustav, immigrated to
America and settled in Utah,
where he was a shoemaker for the
Royal Shoe Co.
The young family grew over
the years. Andreas and Anna
Anderson/Johnson Family Collection
Anderson Shoe and Leather Goods has been operating in downtown La Grande
since 1948.
remained in Utah where they
raised 14 children. Their son Leo,
born in 1895, was a restless young
man. In his early 20s he wandered
up to Dayton, Idaho, where he
worked in farming. Somewhere
along the way he met young
Evelyn Nielson, daughter of Hans
Nielson and his wife Maria of
Union, Oregon.
Leo and Evelyn were married
in June 1917 and lived in Dayton,
where their fi rst child, daughter
Niola, was born. By 1922 the
young family had moved to Union
where Leo opened a cobbler shop.
A second daughter named Vir-
ginia was added to the family.
Leo was active in both his
church and his community —
serving as a bishop in the LDS
Church and a member of Union
City Council.
Leo remained in Union until
late 1948 when he moved his shop
to La Grande and established
Anderson Shoe and Leather
Goods where Snyder Harness
Shop had been located.
Leo died in 1971 at the age
of 76. His son-in-law, Alfred
Edwin Johnson, who had mar-
ried Virginia, took over the shop.
Although Alfred had been a
watchmaker by trade and working
at Laurence’s Jewelry, he had
spent enough time working with
Leo to be able to carry on the
business.
Alfred, Al to his friends,
remained the owner of the shop
until the late 1970s when he
decided to move on to something
diff erent. About this same time
his son, Keith, who had fi nished
college and was the proprietor of
the Cobble Shop on Fir, decided
to take over the family store. Al
passed away in May of 2020 at the
age of 105. Virginia, his wife of 79
years, had died the previous month.
Keith Johnson, current pro-
prietor of Anderson’s Shoe and
Leather Goods Shop, carries
on the family legacy started by
his great-grandfather Andreas
Anderson.
Enjoy! Keep looking up!
█
Ginny Mammen has lived in La Grande for
more than 50 years and enjoys sharing her
interest in the history of people, places and
buildings.